News 2009

GBR8654R spirit of isis wind 10 Kts lizard to stbd making good progressnow passing many boats to port

BUCANEER Blog... The dark clouds descendeth...what will they bring.Bucaneer approaching lizard!

Blog 2

Well hello sailors and fellow twits

Still afloat here on whisper but a teensie weensie bit hors de combatafter twenty four hours in a washing machine. Still looking a milliondollars. If you are an adult you can download our utube thingie if youjust send credit card details. Who is Ran ? All those nice boys sitting inthe rain eating freeze dried pasta!

The floor here looks like a ski slope, even the beds are tilting over.Nowhere is safe. Obviously the tools are really, really busy(relatively). The busiest is a Keen Interested Without Intelligence (KIWIhis words) quite nice person called Maniac who likes to see how manydifferent colour sails he can fit up the mast in an hour.

He got a little bit very annoyed with me this morning when I plugged myhair tongs into the wrong socket and the silly thing made the Garminmachine go on the blink! I don't understand the fuss. I mean, cant we justfollow the others?

Now that we are pointing at West Cork again (almost) I feel so happy. Thesea and sky are blue and the sun is shining again -  of course that's whyIrish girls all have such fabulous tans!

Oh yes before I disconnect -  the tools want to know What did the Ran boyshave for pudding?

Love for nowPrisilla

Rolex Fastnet Race - Update 2

After a tricky first night at sea, the mid-fleet in the Rolex Fastnet Race have experienced a rainy grey day at sea as they slog upwind westward along the English south coast.

As expected the big boats have broken away with Mike Slade's 100-foot supermaxi ICAP Leopard, rounding Land's End at around 0930 GMT and by 1500 she was halfway to the Fastnet Rock turning mark.

"It is a nice sunny day outside here, it could be a lot worse," commented Slade, adding that the sea was flattening out after a bumpy ride up the Channel. Since rounding Lands End, with the wind from the west, ICAP Leopard, as well as the boats chasing her, have headed on a more northerly course, compared to the direct route to the Fastnet Rock.

As Volvo Ocean Race navigator Simon Fisher explained from on board Team Pindar, third placed in the Open 60 fleet and 41 miles from Slade's race leader: "Big picture, the wind is going to come around to the northwest eventually. So we are off to the right in the hope that we have a nice shift, while trying to get into the best position relative to the other boats around us, in order to make the most of that." The question for the boats presently mid-Celtic Sea is when the wind will veer from the west to the northwest and if they can lay the Rock in one tack when this shift comes.

At 1500 GMT, ICAP Leopard was just 25 miles ahead of Karl Kwok's Farr 80 Beau Geste and 34 miles ahead of Niklas Zennstrom's Judel-Vrolijk 72, Ran 2.

Blog 03. Well, what a change in the weather. Yesterday evening we were inshorts. Last night we spent 5 hours at anchor off Anvil Point. Barely 4hours later we had a reef in both main and headsail with grey skies anddrizzle. Dolphins off Torbay and curry off Start Point have restoredmorale ready for another night bouncing to windward.

DAY TWO 10^th AUG. - 2000 GMT Rolex Fastnet Race update

The weather turned pretty cold and nasty this afternoon for the 300 boats in the 2009 Rolex Fastnet Race, especially after the sunshine start in the Solent. The seas are kicking up and the fine rain is soaking the sailors watch after watch.

Not all of them can win, for most of them, just completing the course is the goal and it is a massive achievement but keeping going, is as much an achievement, as winning the historic Rolex Fastnet Race. Focusing on smaller goals can be the way to better performance.

Mike Broughton, navigator on Rogers 46, Varuna:
"We were anchored off Portland for a few hours which means we are really not in the hunt which is tough to take because we could have sailed the boat better but we have been clawing back a few places. Even though we have a fair bit to do, we are currently just five miles off The Lizard and working as hard as we can, I can just about see the land through the gloom, drizzle and swell. But we are not complaining, spirits are good on board, bolstered by the fact that we are ahead of our sistership, Yeoman. The watch system is keeping tiredness at bay and we are as pushing hard as ever."

Tonking along 8/9 kts. Dolphins with us!

JUST 4 FUN - GBR 1659 RJust off the eddiestone lighthouse, having enjoyed a delightful chickenwith 17 different condiments in.Weather is good, boat moving at a good 7 knots in 10 knots of true wind.Most eventful occurrence of the day was the anchor locker flooding due tothe outlet being blocked my a very shiny living mackerel. And no, we haveno idea how it got there either!!

SHIP'S LOG 1200hrs . Currently 4 miles off Start Point doing 5 knots over the ground. We have astiff breeze of 19 knots but have been fighting adverse tide until now. What a difference a day makes. After yesterday's flat sea and measuredwind we're currently ploughing through a lumpy sea with the smallest ofour genoas hoisted. Throughout the course of the morning we've gone fromour medium weight jib to our heavy weight and then, as the wind continuedto build, we eventually hoisted the number 3, designed to keep us morebalanced and stable in winds over about 14 knots. Switching to the smallersail and lashing the bigger one to the deck took three of us. We spentthat ten minutes on the foredeck submarining under waves of quite warmwater. Stings the eyes a bit though. It's been a bumpy morning not without its casualties. One crew memberdidn't keep his breakfast down - no names - but the rest of us areenjoying the roller coaster ride. We think our tactics overnght paid off. When I came on watch at midnightwe were going nowhere, just lolling about just off Portland Bay. We'dgambled on coming inshore whilst a lot of the fleet on the horizon wereheading out to sea. It meant a nervous wait for the tide to change to seeif we'd make the right choice, but seemed to have paid dividends when itdid. A fierce tide in the bay whipped round once it turned in our favour,propelling us round the corner and across Lyme Bay at a fast rate ofknots. Most of the crew have spent the morning sitting up on the high side of theboat to try to keep it flatter and more under control. It's a wet andwindy place to sit but the banter is entertaining. Sausage sandwiches forbreakfast too!

Aviva hot on the heels of the leading boats Received at 1745hrs BST It has been a very grey and damp day aboard Aviva and we have beenliving life at an angle as we crash upwind in a moderate sea state.Although we are in the height of summer, foul weather gear has been thedress code for today. We have continuously had BT and Pindar on our bow and hope that we canreverse that position in the coming hours! There are a few other boatsaround us but visibility is such that we cannot identify them. At some point soon we will need to tack west and head towards theFastnet Rock, which is about 120 miles away. Dee and Team Aviva

Afternoon bloggers from the chernikeeff 2, well we have had a pretty interesting day sailing along on our own with only about 15 miles vis. Currently approaching lands end which is on the bow and have also spotted a few boats from our class, we are now sailing on port tack and expecting to be on this for the majority of the way to the rock.

Our afternoon was made all the more interesting with a catastrophic failure of one of our runner tails (a rope that controls our mast) but with quick thinking from the C2s onboard maintenence team disaster has been overted and we are back upto full speed.

Spirits are still high on the chernikeeff, we are all considering ourselves very lucky to even be competing in this race let alone doing as well as we are. Next blog will be from the vacinity of the fastnet rock!

Chernikeeff 2 out

GBR8764T Bucaneer of Upnor Blog. Well the sun has finally re appeared ashas phone reception. Slightly fustrating day as pointing is not our forteand it has been a beat all the way, however steve and dave (aka thechuckle brothers) are maintaining morale reciting tales of their holidays.Next Blog, lands end...

Gbr1204greetings from the goodship dasher. A busy first 24 hrs. We took a leaffrom the cruisein folks n anchored 4 the nite to start our west countrycruise. This mornin the doc opened the surgery 4 the traineepilot...later on mr mate lead the sewin circle as some enjoyed thespectacular start bay scernery more than others. Meanwhile the forepeakflood alarm has been silenced! The call of capn jaspers was hard to breakbut a tack change later n we r able to enjoy the blue sky n stories boutthe eddystone light! A happy 'dash'.

Update - Monday 1523GMT

At the end of Day 1 at sea things are largely going to plan.

We wanted to start well and managed a relatively clean inside start near the squadron with only two to worry us on the inside. In the end it was the port tack, cross the fleet, approach that won the best start, however we were happy with where we ended up. Must have been a great sight from the shore with the hundreds of spinnakers.

Down the solent was challenging. The sea breeze no longer dominated with the more northerly gradient giving those who stuck north shore rather than in the tide benefiting. Those that got too greedy lost out by lymington. We managed to time it right, diving south to the channel where we transitioned from a 10knt NE to a 8knt WSW. This gave us the lead in class zero out of the solent.

It was tough to defend all the way to portland. We attempted to get ourselves positioned for least tide as we were about 2 hours too late for the gate. Unfortunately a shift to the NW meant we ended up losing out to those the took the more northerly- low of rhumb line, course.

As the breeze died out we had to chose between offshore and inshore. We knew the wind was going to come back from somewhere between SW and W, but also knew long term we wanted right hand side for the expected right shift.

The game is playing out as I type. Not sure who is going to win out compared to our closest competitors, but we've had a favourable shift so far - so fingers crossed. We've now got to work out how to catch the Spanish - they appear to be sailing very well at the moment. On top of this the 14-18 G22 knots is probably benefiting their 52ft vs our 46ft!

No sign of any early challenges for the golden duvet award. Most are under the influence of immodiam and more than comfortable after 24hrs. I'm now.supposed to be offwatch - but on a mission to locate some haribo. Hopefully the minister of the interior won't catch me.

Praying the wind gods keep honouring our requests for a quick race!

JG

Helm

Having it all!

Star Chase has just passed Start Point in a good breeze and slightly slumpy conditions. It's overcast and nothing of the nice sunshine from yesterday remains. But we have wind which is more than we could say yesterday!

And let's face it, we'll take wind and wet any time over no wind and sunshine! Except maybe when we're on anchor in the Caribbean...

It's been a good first 2 days. We went for a kite start straight away and managed to keep some good speed up in the middle of the Solent, gybing our way towards the Needles. Although we could see some boats ahead of us getting in to a great windhole, we couldn't avoid it and sailed into it…but luckily enough not for long.

When we got out of it, the wind had changed and we had changed to our big No2 headsail. Tacking passed Hurst Castle and out of the Needles, we still had some wind.

It wasn't meant to last though…we opted for the finding wind strategy and did quite well at first. The risk was getting into water too deep to anchor…we did keep a good breeze for a while, but in the evening things died down a bit, with no option to anchor...

Our strategy paid off though as the wind filled in nicely and we were now well positioned. Still having a good breeze, 22 -25 knots apparent and steaming along under the No3 and one reef in the main. Gained another 6 places overall, so we're happy!

The grib files are predicting lighter winds again in the next couple of hours, so we have to make the most of it while it lasts!

The crew is all doing well and very motivated, keeping out there on the rail, even when not on watch, to give us those crucial extra few degrees pointing. We're getting a bit wet, but with curry and shepherd's pie on the menu, we should be allright!

More later!

Marlies

We are out into the Irish Sea and beating in 20 knots towards the Fastnet Rock. At last it has stopped raining and we are enjoying some broken sunshine as we bang and crash upwind in a decent seaway.

Just had the first proper sleep since the start and although only a couple of hours long it's amazing how well it recharges the batteries.

Boats like Ran make these 600 mile races feel like a sprint and the various headlands and turning marks seem to get reeled off very quickly even upwind.

It looks likely we will round the 'Rock' in the hours of darkness tonight. Most of us have rounded it many times in our careers but we have a few for whom it will be a first.

We are hanging on to a small lead in the overall standings at present but it doesn't mean too much at this stage. Plenty more golf left in this hole!

Mike Slade’s Maxi ICAP Leopard is launched, charging across the Irish Sea with no-one to race but the clock. Their estimated arrival at the Fastnet Rock is between midnight and two in the morning, at the moment they are off record pace.

20 miles behind them is Karl Kwok’s Farr 80, Beau Geste which is having a battle royal with Niklas Zennstrom’s JV 72, RÁN. Beau Geste has now passed RÁN but the all star British team on the JV 72 are leading class on handicap.

Overnight conditions in the Rolex Fastnet Race have ranged from tricky to impossible. While this morning at the 0600 update, Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard was approaching Lizard Point, the bulk of the 300 strong fleet is now past Portland Bill, the headland to seaward of the 2012 Olympic sailing venue, and were halfway across Lyme Bay bound for the next significant headland, Start Point.

For Slade's mighty 100ft long supermaxi, the night has been one of mixed fortunes, her speed ranging from relative standstill – 4 knots against the tide midway across Lyme Bay at 2300 – to considerable pace, 26.5 knots at 0500. She is way behind her record pace from 2007 when in the early hours of the first morning she was already around Land's End, halfway across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock.

After a very painful night floating, kedging, then just attempting to stem the tide, and passing anchored vessels (one several times, but by the time he picked the pick up, we were over a mile away!), we're now trucking along.

We have a constant force 4 and occasional gusts of 5. slightly lively, but nothing that Lutine can't handle. We have been overtaking boats and managing to sail an awful lot higher than some (especially the RAF Nick 55), which means that we're now in a good position.

Bacon sarnies for breakfast meant that the crew are now happy bunnies (we've buttties every other day, and Grasshopper porridge the others - already have 3 new converts!!!) A fantastic chicken dinner last night and I think we have sausage casserole tonight - in true Lutine style, we're eating well...but no booze!

Earlier, we overtook Mint Julep, a J122 who was unable to point anywhere near as high as us, they lost it and had to bear away right in front of us!h

However, I do feel for the Port watch, as I think they're going slightly mad. Cameras seem to be the latest 'how to keep ourselves amused' toy.....I would send them, but think that we may scare a lot of people!

All looking good for the next watch - tides turning to take us around the point, then head toward Lizard.

Received at 1110hrs

Just rounded Lizard Point between Pindar and BT. Grey and bumpy in the overfalls but the tide is now with us as we head towards Lands Ends. We will soon be heading out across the Irish Sea.

Dee and Team Aviva

Better day force three wind 10 Kts vmg eta to lizard 1930 Hrs

Lunch break report from Ran: See you soon England! We lost sight of Lands Ends about 45 minutes ago heading towards The Rock. We have had a good night and morning with a building breeze in the rain. We have been sailing in about 15 to 19 knots of breeze on the nose and it looks like we will continue beating all the way to Fastnet. We have just enjoyed a freeze dried pasta (that's what it looked like) while hiking on the rail. It was rather tricky to get the parmesan to stay in the bowl! It even stopped raining and the sun almost wants to come out. Ran loves these conditions and is just powering through the waves in 12 knots. We are doing well so far being ahead of our competitors. We know Luna Rossa and Rosebud are fast downwind so we are trying to extend as much as possible towards the rock. Spirit is good onboard.

Hard days night

0700hrs BST

Day 1's light and changeable conditions continued through the first night, though with some bursts of speed that we all hoped would stay longer than they did. Plenty of sail changes have kept us on our feet.

Dawn has arrived and with it the expected weather front. More wind, but drizzle with it. So for a few hours we are beating with one reef, poor visibility and generally wet.

Having been the last of the new generation boats to the needles, it was great to catch up and push through the IMOCA fleet. We are not sure of our position now, but considering the lead changed every 20 minutes yesterday we are pleased just to be in the mix.

There is a slightly bumpy swell and I am struggling to hit the right keys, so how Dee does this in the Southern Ocean I have no idea!

Sailing as fast as possible.

Harry

The first night at sea for the flee and for many it would have been broken sleep, during the early hours, the tide turned at Portland Bill and the fleet trapped behind it were off. Currently the weather is showing 10 knots of breeze at 270 degrees. ICAP Leopard are stonking along at 14 knots in good breeze and have about 250 miles to the Rock. RAN are just 10 miles behind them but Beau Geste are now pushing hard.

nacht der langen messer vor portland bill !

Editor's Note:

Meaning "Night of the Long Knives"

Becalmed off Portland, bobing along with not a breath of wind; only the tide is helping us slowly but surely work our way around.